Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-11-06
BETTER TIMES AHEAD.
The Views OF an Experienced and Com.
potent 0bserVer-Gens j. Il. Wilson
Tells What He Learned
On Western Trip Made for The Purpose
of EXamining the Condition
of tho Country.
New York Sun.


the ST. Louis and Southeastern and Of the
New York and New England AID other
railroads. He is now Interested IN rail
roads as aa investor, and his long eX.
pe:ience with the railroad interests OF tie
country makes his Judgment in these
matters peculiarly valuable to his friends.
General Wilson recently returned to New
York from long western trip. A Sun
reporter found b m in his office in Wall
street yesterday afternoon and asked him
what he thought about western railroads
and their prospects.
al went west TO satisfy myself" said
the General, Gas to the business condi-
ton Of the country there, having in view
especially the influence of railroad build
ing and of the real estate boom in the
west upon stock Vgiues. saw and con-
versed with many leading real estate
managers, railroad men and merchants,
and my conclusions are that the cyclone
Of disaster which has been predicted for
as has alrea )y passed by, leaving but
few unimportant wrecks; that a conser-
vatiye feeling which has recently been in
TESTIFIED, spread throughout the west two
or three months ago, and that so far as
railroads are concerned, any change in
freight and passenger rates on roads vest,
northwest and southwest Of Chicago are
apt to be for the better snd not for
the worse. The opening Of two new
lines to the northwest, the Chicago,
Burlington an Northern and the Mime
sofa Northwestern, was followed by re-
duction OF rates. As to the former road,
it was built under the sanction and in
piled protection ct the Chicago, BdrliG5
ton and Quincy road, and the best opin-
ion in that section of the VEST is that the
parent road will be compelled to take it
over and become responsible for it's husi-
| ness management. II is claimed thai it
did not make eny reduction OF rates, but
that lis rivals, anticipating that it would
do SO, were the frs. to reduce the rates
On grain and -four from ST. Pau TO Chi
cago. It is quite certain that change
in the rates may be expected when navj
galion closes on the lakes, aud there is
good reason for believing that the
| change will be upward and not down
| ward. 1t may be said also that the
| freight rates generally prevailing in the
RI gion northwest Of Chicago, while some
what lower than they were before the
completion of these new lines and the
! passage Of the Interstate commerce bill,
are, on the whole, higher than they have
BEEN at many times during the prevalence
Of rate wars, and are very much more
stable, owing to the publicity now re-
CURED by law. As tc the passenger rates,
the price Of 2000-mile tickets has recently
been Lreduced by agreement, from q
cents TO 2 cents per mile; bur this Is
merely restoration of rates which pre-
vailed prior to the interstate commerce
law, and is regarded by ali SIS likely to
| produce but very inConsiderable char &c
in the revenues.
GAS to the disturbance, which it hiss
| been feared would follow from the open
ing of the new Chicago and Kansas lines,
it need only be said that the Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe road, controlling as
it does, a very large business from its
system southwest from Kansas City, all OF
which it will necessarily give to it's Chi
cago lines, will not make any reduction
in the rates from Kansas City to Chicago.
By so doing it would, of course, simply
reduce It's own revenue for nothing. AS
to the business from Chicago to points on
the AtchisOn road, 1t will necessarily
control that, for the obvious reason that
the rival lines can reach but few of these
points. 1t needs no argument to prove
that the policy OF the Atchison road will
| be conservative.
"The case is somewhat different with
| the Chicago Milwaukee aud st Paul road
at Kansas City, and yet there has bsen g
marked misconCeption as to the position
of this new line. 1t has been commonly
supposed that there is an entirely new
road from Chicago to Kansas City, where
as it is merely an eX ensiOn from Oltum-
wa, Iowa, to Kansas City. The ST Paul
| SUa has h,ypS
OF Kansas City, but the Kansas City, Fort
Scout snd Gull, the Kansas City, Spring-
field and Mem phis, and the UuIon Psc fc
railways, all terminating at Kansas City,
sre free to give their business to the
Milwaukee and ST. Paul road. The Mis-
souri, Pacific, the ST Louis and San Fran.
cisco railways and the business original
Ing st Kansas City will also contribute
some Chicago trade, from all of which il
is evident that the new st Paul line
will necessarily obtsin fair amount OF
business at Kansas City without Yielding
to the temptation to make ruinous rates.
1t Is well known that the management of
the rosd is just as anxious as that of the
other roads to secure satisfactory
revenues and there is no proper gcound
} for 81 pposiDg that it will become 8 dis
turber of rates.
"The Chicago and Alton, the Wabash,
the Chicago. Rock Island and Pacific, and
the Chicago snd n JrshWestern roads are
all we'll known to be under the most con-
sentative and judicious management. Il
Is also true that all lines west of Cnicsg0
Notwithstanding the partial failure Of the
corn crop in Kansas and Nebraska, have 6
larger business in sight at the present
time and for the next three or four
months than they ever had before. They
have even less temptation than usual t.
reduce rates.
"Fhe trsnscontinentsl lines have recently
agreed to disregard the rivalry Of the eau
adian Pacific road end TO msintsin rates
with each other. And there Is ressoE t
believe that the management of the Can
adam road will, under the pressure Of Ill
owners, limit Its disturbance rates to
, minimum, If it does not, indeed, com,
: into an agreement to maintain rates witt
the other roads or to divide territory. l
. Is believed by people we'll informed tbs
, It will come into such sn agreement with
IN the next two or three Wee ks.
1.-THE alarmists have predicted that tht
Manitoba road, which is expected Il
, reach Helena in & short Ii e, will worl
the ruin OF the n 5rthern Pacific. Bat
must be remembered that this road hs
I been expending money lavIshly il
construction, and that when
gets 10 Helena it viii be anxious, lik
other roads, to secure the largest posi-
| hi. rovaDue from, tha b,e;noz. ozarnd e.